1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to bookmarks. Still more particularly, the present invention provides bookmarks that are customized and consolidated into folders as defined in an Instant Messaging (IM) environment and shared with an Internet browser.
2. Description of Related Art
Instant messaging (sometimes called IM or IMing) is the ability to easily see whether a chosen friend or co-worker is connected to the Internet and, if they are, to exchange messages with them. Instant messaging differs from ordinary e-mail in the immediacy of the message exchange and also makes a continued exchange simpler than sending e-mail back and forth. Most exchanges are text-only. However, some services allow attachments or other features.
In order for IMing to work, both users (who must subscribe to the service) must be online at the same time, and the intended recipient must be willing to accept instant messages. It is possible to set your software to reject messages. An attempt to send an IM to someone who is not online, or who is not willing to accept IMs, will result in notification that the transmission cannot be completed. If the online software is set to accept IMs, it alerts the recipient with a distinctive sound, a window that indicates that an IM has arrived and allowing the recipient to accept or reject it, or a window containing the incoming message.
Under most conditions, IMing is truly “instant.” Even during peak Internet usage periods, the delay is rarely more than a second or two. It is possible for two people to have a real-time online “conversation” by IMing each other back and forth.
IMing provides another method to stay in contact with customers, friends, colleagues, etc. The IM tool can be used to answer support questions and even to pull or push content (URLs or Web pages). However, performing searches of the Web may require significant time to find the requested information.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have a priority based Instant Messaging system that allows a user to contact colleagues or subject matter experts (SME). These contacts may have online information, such as Web searches or bookmarks, which can be accessed by the user and would reduce Web search time.